Deck 12: Applying Perspectives and Levels of Analysis: the Case of the Democratic Peace

Question 1

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Evidence for the joint practice of democracy-two democracies interacting at the systemic process level of analysis-appears to contradict which perspectives in accounting for the democratic peace?

A) liberal
B) realist
C) ideational
D) critical

Answer 1

A, B

Question 2

Which of the following explanations of the democratic peace is from the liberal perspective?

A) Democracies do not go to war with one another because they trade more with one another.
B) Democracies do not go to war with one another because they share common domestic norms.
C) Democracies do not go to war with one another because they successfully use balance-of-power politics to avoid war.
D) Democracies do not go to war with one another because they belong to the same alliances counterbalancing or fighting other alliances.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

When studies distinguish along a continuum between strong and weak democracies, they find that ______.

A) new or relatively weak democracies are insecure and, thus, do not go to war if they can avoid it
B) new or relatively weak democracies do go to war more often with one another
C) strong democracies are more likely to go to war with new or weak democracies
D) strong democracies are more likely to go to war than new or weak democracies

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Arguing that whether or not two states have the same internal characteristics (namely, democracy) determines whether or not they will conflict is an example of an argument from which perspective?

A) the realist perspective
B) the liberal perspective
C) the identity perspective
D) the critical theory perspective

Question 5

Which of the following explanations of the democratic peace is from the realist perspective?

A) Democracies do not go to war with one another because they trade more with one another.
B) Democracies do not go to war with one another because they belong to the same international institutions.
C) Democracies do not go to war with one another because they belong to the same alliances counterbalancing or fighting other alliances.
D) Democracies do not go to war with one another because they are more peaceful than all other states.

Question 6

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following methodological approaches would most likely argue that the labeling or definition of variables in a study of democratic peace might not be divorced from the biases of the scholar doing the study?

A) rationalism
B) constructivism
C) critical theory
D) positivism

Question 7

Why would Britain and the United States in the early nineteenth century be considered weak democracies?

A) They lacked constitutions.
B) Voting was restricted to a small portion of the population.
C) There was no freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of peaceful assembly, or freedom to petition the government.
D) They did not have legislatures.

Question 8

Which perspective would most likely argue that peace is not caused by democracy but by the presence of hegemony?

A) the realist perspective
B) the liberal perspective
C) the identity perspective
D) the critical theory perspective

Question 9

Which perspective would most likely argue that democracies do not go to war with one another because leaders have to appeal to larger coalitions to survive politically and, therefore, choose wars only with nondemocratic countries in which democracies enjoy an advantage in mobilizing military resources?

A) the realist perspective
B) the liberal perspective
C) the identity perspective
D) the critical theory perspective

Question 10

The number of cases available in studies that are used in analyses to test relationships is often referred to as the ______.

A) sample size
B) correlation
C) test group
D) case selection

Question 11

In 2002, Levy argued that ______ causes trump other mainstream causes in accounting for the absence of war.

A) liberal
B) realist
C) ideational
D) critical

Question 12

The realist perspective would most likely argue that democracies do not go to war with one another because ______.

A) they successfully use balance-of-power politics to avoid war
B) their leaders have to appeal to larger coalitions to survive politically and, therefore, choose wars only with nondemocratic countries in which democracies enjoy an advantage in mobilizing military resources
C) they trade more with one another and do not want to forfeit the mutual gains from trade
D) they are inherently more peaceful than nondemocratic states

Question 13

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following are propositions put forth by proponents of democratic peace theory?

A) Democratic states never (or rarely) go to war against other democracies.
B) Democratic states are slightly less inclined to go to war (against anyone) than nondemocracies.
C) Nondemocracies rarely go to war with other nondemocracies.
D) Democracies and nondemocracies almost never go to war against each other.

Question 14

The argument that democracies do not go to war with one another because they successfully use balance-of-power politics to avoid war is an example of an argument from which level of analysis?

A) the individual level of analysis
B) the domestic level of analysis
C) the systemic process level of analysis
D) the systemic structural level of analysis

Question 15

According to democratic peace theory, what is the most important reason the spread of democracy is desirable?

A) Democracy ensures a high level of economic development.
B) Democracy safeguards the natural liberty of individuals.
C) Democracy promotes the free development and exchange of ideas.
D) Democratic states do not go to war with one another.

Question 16

An outcome that is caused by multiple variables, wherein the relationship between those variables is not clear, is said to be ______.

A) oversampled
B) overfit
C) overdetermined
D) overcompensated

Question 17

Which perspective is emphasized in the argument that democratic states are better at diplomacy or balance-of-power politics because of some feature of democracy?

A) the realist perspective
B) the liberal perspective
C) the identity perspective
D) the critical theory perspective

Question 18

The argument that democracies are more peaceful than all other states is an example of an argument from which level of analysis?

A) the individual level of analysis
B) the domestic level of analysis
C) the foreign policy level of analysis
D) the systemic level of analysis

Question 19

Many identity perspective explanations for the democratic peace rely on which of the following levels of analysis, which suggest that the practice of democratic norms and beliefs further encourages this practice among states?

A) individual
B) domestic
C) systemic process
D) systemic structural

Question 20

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Relations between which two states are among the earliest evidence of the democratic peace?

A) Germany
B) Russia
C) The United States
D) Great Britain

Question 21

One way to increase a sample size is to define democracy and war more loosely.

Question 22

The liberal perspective is most likely to emphasize participation in international institutions as a key variable that may explain the democratic peace.

Question 23

The realist perspective would most likely emphasize alliances as the major independent variable in its explanation of the democratic peace.

Question 24

A pair of interacting states is commonly called a ______ in statistical studies.

Question 25

According to the liberal perspective, democracies do not go to war with one another because they belong to the same international institutions, whose laws and practices they follow.

Question 26

The argument that democracies do not go to war with one another because they share common domestic norms and institutions requires at least two states that are both democratic to hold true.

Question 27

The liberal perspective is most likely to argue that the lack of conflict among democracies is an effect of the Cold War and the United States' post-Cold War leadership.

Question 28

The argument that democracies do not go to war with one another because leaders have to appeal to larger coalitions to survive politically and, therefore, choose wars only with nondemocratic countries in which democracies enjoy an advantage in mobilizing military resources is an example of an argument from the individual level of analysis.

Question 29

Democracies still fight frequently against nondemocracies, but they are less inclined to do so than nondemocracies are to fight among themselves.

Question 30

The argument that democracies do not go to war with one another because they share common domestic norms and institutions is an argument from the systemic process level of analysis because it tells us how they interact with one another.

Question 31

Arguments that say that democracies are better at either balance-of-power politics or diplomacy sometimes omit an explanation of why democracies are better at those activities.

Question 32

The ______ is a theory that democratic nations, for the most part, do not go to war with one another.

Question 33

Scholars using rationalist methods doubt whether it is possible to identify separate dependent and independent variables and say that one variable in a correlation causes another in the case of the democratic peace.

Question 34

The argument that democracies do not go to war with one another because they belong to the same alliances counterbalancing or fighting other alliances is said to be from the systemic structural level if the emphasis is on the relative positioning of opposing alliances within the system.

Question 35

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which two levels of analysis may apply to the argument that democracies do not go to war with one another because they belong to the same international institutions, whose laws and practices they follow?

A) the individual level of analysis
B) the domestic level of analysis
C) the systemic process level of analysis
D) the systemic structural level of analysis

Question 36

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which two perspectives may argue that democracies do not go to war with one another because they have unique contracting or negotiating advantages that allow them to settle disputes without war?

A) the realist perspective
B) the liberal perspective
C) the identity perspective
D) the critical theory perspective

Question 37

If the democratic peace theory holds true, it suggests that ______ could be eliminated through the spread of democracy.

Question 38

As compared with nondemocracies, democracies tend to trade more with one another and participate more fully and aggressively in international organizations.

Question 39

It is difficult to ascertain the relationship between democracy and war because the ______, or number of cases, is relatively small.

Question 40

To observe stronger and more reliable patterns among variables, analysts seek a ______ sample size.

Question 41

How would the critical theory perspective explain the democratic peace?

Question 42

The ______ perspective would most likely argue that the democratic peace is the peace of the democratic hegemon, which is a product of historical circumstances.

Question 43

What are the major findings of research on the democratic peace?

Question 44

The democratic peace is the theory that for the most part, democratic states ______, making the spread of democracy desirable.

Question 45

What explains the democratic peace, and from which perspectives and levels of analysis do those explanations come from?

Question 46

An analyst using ______ methodology may conclude that peace is an appropriate or more persuasive outcome associated with social discourse among democracies.

Question 47

The realist perspective argues that democracies do not go to war with one another because they successfully use ______ politics to avoid war.

Question 48

According to the liberal perspective, more trade creates ______ gains, which democracies do not want to forfeit by going to war with one another.

Question 49

The ______ perspective would most likely argue that democracies are all more peaceful than other states.

Question 50

What are possible explanations of the democratic peace from the identity perspective?

Question 51

What are possible explanations of the democratic peace from a realist perspective?

Question 52

The argument that democracies do not go to war with one another because they belong to the same international institutions, whose laws and practices they follow, is an example of an argument from the ______ level of analysis, if the argument depends on the rules of the institutions or the specialized roles that states play within these institutions.

Question 53

An ______ outcome is one that is caused by multiple independent variables, the separate and interactive effects of which are not clear.

Question 54

What technical and theoretical criticisms are made of democratic peace theory?

Question 55

One explanation of the democratic peace contends that democracies do not go to war with one another because leaders have to appeal to larger coalitions to survive politically and, therefore, choose wars only with nondemocratic countries in which democracies enjoy an advantage in mobilizing ______.

Question 56

The argument that democracies do not go to war with one another because they have unique contracting or negotiating advantages that allow them to settle disputes without war is an example of an argument from the ______ level of analysis.

Question 57

What are possible explanations of the democratic peace from a liberal perspective?